Rigid, slide-open cigarette packets are known, such as those described in Patent Application FR 2499947A1, Patent Application WO 2004024595A1, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,534,463A1, and 5,080,227A1.
A rigid, slide-open cigarette packet comprises a first container, which houses a foil-wrapped group of cigarettes and is housed inside a second container to slide, with respect to the second container, between a closed position, wherein the first container is fully inserted inside the second container, and an open position, wherein the first container is partly extracted from the second container.
Known rigid, slide-open cigarette packets are all formed using two separate blanks: a first blank is folded about the group of cigarettes to form the first container, and a second blank is folded about the first container to form the second container.
Standard cigarette packing machines produce rigid, hinged-lid packets, and are designed to handle one blank for forming a container about the group of cigarettes, and a small collar which need simply be folded into a U about the group of cigarettes. A special packing machine for producing rigid, slide-open packets therefore calls for major alterations, involving high design, construction, and maintenance costs, to a standard rigid, hinged-lid packet machine.